Patna, March 12: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday came under a no-holds-barred attack from the opposition RJD after he engaged in a verbal duel with his predecessor Rabri Devi inside the state legislative council.
An unprecedented spat was witnessed between the two septuagenarians after which Rabri Devi staged a walkout and accused the chief minister of having come to the House after consuming “bhang” (cannabis) while her son Tejashwi Yadav, a former deputy CM, demanded the resignation of his ex-boss whom he charged with “gesticulating at female legislators”.
Trouble began when Shashi Yadav, an MLC of the CPI(ML), an RJD ally, rose in her chair to submit before the House that she was not satisfied with the government’s reply to her question.
Kumar, who is also a member of the upper house, reacted, while still seated, with the remark, “The government is doing so much. The earlier governments did nothing.” This irked Rabri Devi, the leader of the opposition, who rose to intervene, saying “You claim no work was done before you took over. Please summon the records of that period. You will understand better.” Kumar, who had demonstrated his quick temper before the House earlier this week, sprang to his feet and vehemently began to reiterate his point.
Rabri Devi reacted with the taunt, “According to you, women did not even wear clothes before 2005, when you became the chief minister.” The allusion was to a faux pas made by the JD(U) president more than once in recent past, while trying to underscore his push for empowering women.
Kumar, however, dug in his heels, dismissed the charge by the opposition that he was disrespectful towards women.
“Never before have women got so much of respect as they are getting now,” asserted the CM who also twisted the knife by pointing towards Rabri Devi, with the remark, “What did they do for women? Her husband made her the chief minister when he ran into trouble.” Notably, Rabri Devi first became the chief minister in 1997 when her husband Lalu Prasad, the RJD president, had to resign, following a CBI charge-sheet in the fodder scam. (PTI)
